Life on the water subject of new show at Mystic Seaport

Published 1:35 pm, Thursday, September 26, 2013

Life on the water is the theme of a new photography exhibition at Mystic Seaport. Above is an image from Barry Winiker, who focuses on luxury cruise ships.

Life on the water is the theme of a new photography exhibition at Mystic Seaport. Above is an image from Barry Winiker, who focuses on luxury cruise ships.

Photo: Contributed Photo

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Life on the water is the theme of a new photography exhibition at Mystic Seaport. Above is an image from Barry Winiker, who focuses on cruise ships.

Life on the water is the theme of a new photography exhibition at Mystic Seaport. Above is an image from Barry Winiker, who focuses on cruise ships.

Photo: Contributed Photo

Image 3 of 3

Life on the water is the theme of a new photography exhibition at Mystic Seaport. Above is an image from Milton Moore, whose photos focus on Cape Cod fishermen.

Life on the water is the theme of a new photography exhibition at Mystic Seaport. Above is an image from Milton Moore, whose photos focus on Cape Cod fishermen.

Photo: Contributed Photo

Life on the water subject of new show at Mystic Seaport

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Images by two American photographers who document life on the water from very different viewpoints -- work and leisure -- are the subject of a new exhibition at Mystic Seaport.

The exhibition, which is expected to be on view at least through next spring, focuses on works by Milton Moore and Barry Winiker. Both work in black-and-white photography.

On display on the second floor of the museum's Stillman Building, the photos are each compelling in their own way, said Dan McFadden, a Seaport spokesman, noting that Moore's photos document the jobs of Cape Cod fishermen during the 1970s, while Winiker is taken by the beauty of luxury cruise ships.

"The power in these photographs is that they are comparatively recent," McFadden said last week. "The scenes at first do not seem to be historical, but the more one looks, the more one realizes that the people and places depicted capture a particular moment in our maritime experience that cannot be repeated. It is that connection to (recent) history ... that makes it work.

"From the luxurious environment of cruise ships to the gritty setting on fishing boats, these photos show the extremes of work and play that the oceans provide," said Jonathan Shay, the director of exhibits. "I love the photos not only for this documentation, but also for their exceptional artistry."

Moore's section of the show is titled "Working Men, Working Boats: Images of the Cape Cod Fishery in its Heyday." Moore is a designer with The Day newspaper of New London. While working for the Cape Cod Times 30 years ago, he produced the images on display, which was recently digitized and restored.

"The photographs have a timeless feel, capturing fishing techniques that date back far before the 1970s when they were shot," according to the exhibition.

"When I look at these photographs now, these images of men hauling nets and dredges no longer seem connected to my own hand, but are like some family heirloom I have always known," Moore said.

"It is as easy for me to imagine these photographs as records from the 1930s as to conjure the cold winds and shifting light of the days when they were made," Moore said.

Winiker's show section is "Sun Ships: Modern Cruising." According to the exhibit, his fascination with the photography of cruise ships and ocean liners began in 1980 "when he boarded a passenger ship in New York City and discovered a world of style, design, and function." His photographs "record passenger activities and the architectural and design elements on board.

"My views from the deck are documentary and informative, as well as interpretive," Winiker explained. "They are concerned as much with architecture and design as they are with weather conditions, time of day and play of light and shadow. The wealth of shipboard visual information is enormous -- it is a subject that inspires, challenges, and offers immeasurable possibilities."